1 of 3 | President Donald Trump delivers remarks on Iran ahead of a Medal of Honor ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Monday. Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/UPI | License Photo
President Donald Trump said the United States was “substantially” ahead of timeline projections for operations in Iran, saying Monday the military could be in action for more than a month if need be.
He made the comments during a ceremony to present the Medal of Honor to three soldiers at the White House.
It was the first time he faced reporters since the United States launched airstrikes on multiple locations in Iran on Saturday, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran’s state-run Press TV reported Monday that Khamenei’s wife, Mansoureh Khojasteh, 78, also died from her injuries sustained in the attack.
Addressing speculation he would “get bored” with the attack on Iran, Trump told reporters, “there’s nothing boring about this.”
“We’re already substantially ahead of our time projections,” he said. “But whatever the time is, it’s OK. … We projected four to five weeks, but we have the capability to go far longer than that. We’ll do it.”
Earlier Monday, he declined to rule out the possibility of sending U.S. ground troops into Iran.
“I don’t have the yips with respect to boots on the ground — like every president says, ‘There will be no boots on the ground.’ I don’t say it,” Trump told The New York Post.
“I say, ‘probably don’t need them,’ [or], ‘if they were necessary.'”
During a news conference Monday morning, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also discussed the possibility of ground forces in Iran, echoing Trump’s comments over the weekend that there would likely be casualties. U.S. Central Command posted on social media that four U.S. troops have been killed in action.
The defense secretary called the strikes “the most lethal and precise air power campaign in history.” The attacks include the use of B-2 stealth bombers, missiles, drones and classified weapons.
“All on our terms with maximum authorities. No stupid rules of engagement, no nation building quagmire, no democracy building exercise, no politically correct wars,” Hegseth said. “We fight to win and we don’t waste time or lives.”
U.S. Gen. Dan Caine said during Monday’s press conference that he expects more losses of U.S. troops to come.
“This is not a single, overnight operation,” Caine said. “The objectives CENTCOM has been tasked with will be difficult and gritty work. We expect to take additional losses.”
Hegseth described the impetus for the attacks as the result of a “one-sided war” against America by Iran.
“We didn’t start this war but under President Trump we are finishing it,” Hegseth said. “Their war on Americans has become our retribution against their ayatollah and his death cult.”
Hegseth added that Iran’s development of nuclear capabilities, ballistic missiles and drones were “no longer a tolerable risk.”
Hegseth disputed that the attacks are part of a “regime change war,” after the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, announced Saturday.
Iran’s Red Crescent, meanwhile, said that more than 550 people have been killed in the joint strikes by the United States and Israel.
Thousands of targets within Iran’s borders have been hit as the United States and Israel continue to expand the scope of their attacks. As of Monday morning, Israel has begun strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, the Israel Defense Force said.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said in a statement that any military activities launched by Hezbollah are “illegal.”
This week in Washington
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks during a press conference after the weekly Republican Senate caucus luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
